Unlike Any Other
by SKGB39
Summary: Ezio receives a hit to get rid of a maid suspected to be a serial killer. He is skeptical, and rightfully so. The maid, Pyrrha, is an extremely timid girl who looks completely incapable of the things she's been accused with. Rated T for violence and coarse language. MAY turn into Ezio/Pyrrha. Update: Edited chaps. 1 and 2 slightly.
1. Chapter 1

**Unlike Any Other**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Soul Calibur characters nor do I own Ezio! I only own this story.**_

_**A/N: The title isn't official. I just couldn't come up with a good one quite yet.  
**_

_March 16, 1605_

Ezio had received a letter two days ago stating someone had a "job" for him and to met at the pastry shop today at 5 o'clock P.M. to receive the target's information.

Ezio had arrived at the meeting place 45 minutes early to await his client, who actually arrived shortly after he did. The client was an older gentleman with a curly mustache and round spectacles, a little on the heavier side. He was dressed with a top hat and a tuxedo with a collar shirt covered with a black jacket, white slacks, and shiny black dress shoes.

"Good evening to you, Mr. Radcliffe," The girl behind the counter greeted him with a deep bow and offered to take his hat and hang it on the rack. He agreed and she took it, revealing his bald head. She then pointed told him to have a sit and she'll be right with him.

The client, Mr. Radcliffe, went to the table Ezio was sitting, taking a seat across from him.

"You're Ezio Auditore, correct?" The man asked him, his voice low and stern. Ezio only nodded as he finished sipping his glass of wine and set it onto the table.

"You look so young for someone of your notoriety." The man said, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm not here to chit-chat. Where's the info?" Ezio asked, his voice cold and gruff.

"Oh yes, of course." Radcliffe had dug through his jacket and slid an envelope to the other side of the table. Ezio slowly grabbed and opened it, revealing a picture of a frail looking young woman with medium length blonde hair and pale blue eyes that seemed to carry an unimaginable amount of sadness. He looked at the photo questionably. He never really questioned his clients, but he just couldn't fix that puzzled look on his face, which Radcliffe noticed.

"Her name's Pyrrha Alexandra," the older man began to explain, "my son has recently bought her off of the slave market and she works at my estate as a maid. He had proposed to her last night and they are now engaged."

Ezio's mind was baffled by this, as his targets were usually members of the Templar Order or known criminals who harmed innocent people. He couldn't begin to fathom why anyone would want their housekeeper dead.

"So why do you want her dead?" Ezio asked, voice still calm.

"Well, I heard a terrible rumor of how wherever she goes, people always die. There's no evidence to support that she is the one who causes the deaths, but I don't want to risk my son being murdered by the wench."

Ezio's furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced at the picture again. 'This girl looks so harmless; I doubt she could kill herself even if she tried.' He thought to himself.

"I want you to make her death look like a tragic accident, my son is quite attached to her." Radcliffe said.

"I don't just kill anyone, that's not how I work. I will, however, look into these rumors." Ezio said, his voice getting sharper.

"Well, I guess that'll do as well." Radcliffe replied with a light sigh.

The clerk had finally shown up, apologizing for taking so long.

"It's quite alright, dear." Radcliffe had assured the brunette, smiling and even chuckling a little.

"Well, you are one of our best customers," the girl started, "so what can I get you today?"

"The usual." Radcliffe simply replied to her.

"Alright! And you, mister?" The girl said, turning to Ezio.

"I was actually on my way out, but thank you anyway." He said as he slipped the picture of Pyrrha into his robes and stood up, leaving some money behind for the wine.

Ezio exited the shop into the not so busy street and made his way to a courtyard, where he took out the picture and looked at it again, this time turning it over. It contained a note that stated Radcliffe's address and to take his time with his job, as Jurgis (Radcliffe's son) would be furious if he ever found her death to be anything but an accident. It also stated that he would be paid handsomely for his deeds, not that he really cared.

The assassin looked at the woman's picture one last time and headed off with a scoff.

_March 21, 1605_

Ezio had resumed his routine of watching Pyrrha, who was really as she looked in the photo. He watched her as she broke countless dishes, bore several whippings, and cried herself to sleep almost every night. He's surprised she wasn't beheaded already, seeing as how she's done countless things wrong.

Night time eventually fell and Pyrrha came to her room, which is on the top floor of the mansion. Ezio was outside her window in a nearby tree watching her cry into her pillow again. She seemed to sob for hours until a gut wrenching scream from across the mansion stopped her. They both instantly shot up and turned to the direction the scream was heard. Pyrrha left her room in a hurry as she went to go investigate.

When she did, a mysterious looking girl in green with a ring blade hopped into her room through the window, hoisting a bag with her. She sat on Pyrrha's bed, waiting for her to return. While waiting, the girl took what looked like a sword and shield out of the bag.

Minutes later, Pyrrha ran back in her room and frantically shut the door, locking it. She fell to her knees, holding her head screaming "No! It wasn't me! I didn't kill anybody!"

The door was being pounded on, angry voices coming from behind it. The mysterious girl walked up to Pyrrha, telling her she truly didn't do anything wrong and handed her the sword and shield. She then went on to say that those "nasty humans" just don't understand and are just looking for a scapegoat. Ezio clearly sensed the malice behind the girl's voice, but Pyrrha didn't. She wiped away her tears and looked up to the girl, taking the weapons from her.

The girl then leaped out of the window with a huge smirk on her face. Pyrrha ran to the window to look, before she could say anything the door was broken and collapsed. Guards quickly filled the room as they tried to take Pyrrha, who continued crying and insisted she didn't do anything.

"Like hell you didn't, wench!" Spat a guard as he lunged at her. Pyrrha shrieked and shut her eyes as she thrust forward with her sword, impaling the man right in the heart. He fell dead and bled out on the floor. Pyrrha looked at the body and then at the sword covered in blood, her hands trembling as she came to the realization of what just happened. She quickly turned her head at the sound of swords being unsheathed.

"You bitch! You'll be beheaded right now!" Another guard shouted as he lunged at Pyrrha, fully intent on killing her here and now, swinging his sword. Pyrrha gasped as she clumsily threw up her shield hand to guard. She obviously had no combat experience whatsoever. The guard's sword collided with the shield and Pyrrha seized the opportunity to strike back, hitting the man's neck. He fell to the floor dead as the next guard attempted to attack Pyrrha, who fell to the floor trying to dodge his attack. She turned onto her back with the biggest look of fear and terror in her eyes begging the man to stop.

Her pleas were ignored as the man went to restrain her to the floor. But when he tackled her, he gurgled and coughed up blood. Pyrrha had pointed her sword up at the last second, causing him to fall on it and be impaled. She slowly pushed the man off of her and opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around the room, her eyes so wide they looked as if they were going to pop out of her head and tears uncontrollably running down her face. Ezio felt kind of bad for the girl, as he knew what it was like being chased by authorities for a crime he didn't commit.

The sounds of more angry guards caused Pyrrha to get up and start running, she ran until she appeared in the central courtyard of the estate. As she arrived, the sound of an explosion knocked her to the ground. When she stood up, she noticed she was surrounded by flames.

"We got you now! Everyone, don't let her get away!" Guards came out of what seemed like almost everywhere and swarmed Pyrrha. She could only mutter a weak "Why" as the guards started attacking her.

She started by throwing her shield up in the same clumsy fashion she did earlier to catch a blow from the closest guard and stabbed him. As he fell she dodged an attack coming from her right said, causing the guard to impale his friend. She slowly turned around as the now infuriated guards attacked her again, only to be slain by her clumsy, uncoordinated attacks. Ezio was quite shocked by how trained men were being beaten by the frail, clumsy maid.

He continued watching as she killed the guards one by one. She clearly didn't want to as she was crying and begging them to stop the entire time. When she killed the last one, she just fell to the ground.

"Maybe," she said to herself, "maybe if I just die her and now, no one will have to suffer anymore…."

This was Ezio's perfect opportunity to swoop in and kill her, but he just couldn't do it. He couldn't kill someone who was perfectly willing yet not deserving to die. He completely sympathized with the woman who laid there, totally giving up on life. Not to mention the rumors of her being a serial killer, which was the main reason he was assigned to kill her in the first place, were completely false, not counting the mass amounts of guards she just slaughtered.

He was about to leave and forget this whole incident ever happened, but saw the mysterious girl with the ring blade approach Pyrrha and perished the thought. He instead moved from the tree quietly to get closer to the courtyard so he could hear them.

"Didn't it feel good slaughtering those big bad humans?" He heard a sarcastic, malicious voice, which he quickly identified as the mysterious girl.

"No…. I didn't mean to….. they attacked me first." A weak voice replied.

"Oh, but you did! Look at all the blood on the walls and floor! If you truly didn't want to, you would've surrendered!"

"B- but I didn't do anything…."

"Liar! YOU killed Jurgis! YOU killed the guards! And YOU set the mansion ablaze!" The girl's voice became more aggressive.

"I didn't kill Jurgis! I- I…." Pyrrha started to whimper and sob as the girl kept accusing her of things she truly didn't do.

Ezio clenched his fists as the taunting continued; biting his lips so hard to keep silent he drew blood from himself.

"Whatever, I had enough of your crying and bitching. Now come on before I kill you, just like I did your mother!" The girl snapped, her voice the complete opposite of what it was a few minutes ago.

"W- what?" Pyrrha asked, tilting her head slightly at the girl. "I- I had a mother? I have a family?"

"Oops," was all the girl could simply say as she just realized what she told Pyrrha.

"I- I have to go find them!" Pyrrha exclaimed, her voice hopeful. She tried to get up and leave, but the mysterious girl stopped her.

"You're not going anywhere, wench!" The girl swung her massive ring shaped blade at Pyrrha, who barely managed to block it. The impact was so strong it made her fly to the ground. The building was on fire so long it had started to collapse. Ezio didn't want Pyrrha, who had seemed happy for the first time in the days of him following her, to die before she could even try to find her family. He loaded a bolt into his crossbow, stood up, quickly aimed at the mysterious girl, and fired, staying out of the sight of both her and Pyrrha. She cursed under her breath as she dodged the bolt. Pyrrha took this opportunity and quickly hopped through a window of the surrounding corridor, making her way to the exit of the whole estate.

She continued to run into the night, putting as much distance between her and the place as possible.

**And that wraps this part up. It's funny how playing a game you haven't played in months can give you an idea for a fanfiction.  
And don't worry, I totally plan on continuing this. ^_^**

**_Also: Major shout out to Major Mike Powell III for giving me some more background information on Ezio! Now I can portray his character a bit better. ^_^_  
**


	2. Chapter 2

_March 22, 1605_

Pyrrha slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around to check her surroundings to make sure she wasn't abducted in the middle of the night. She ran for as long as she could see through the dense forest. When it was no longer possible to see, she found a cave and slept in it.

When she confirmed she wasn't abducted, she got up and left the cave. She took a deep breath as she stepped into the sunlight. She looked at the forest as it was being partially lit by the beams of sunlight peeking through the trees before she started walking; not wanting to stay in one place for too long as she knew people would probably come looking for her, the girl with the ring blade especially. She wandered through the forest with her sword and shield, ready to defend herself from any pursuers or even wild animals. She eventually found a creek and stopped to wash her face, which was covered with dirt and blood from last night's incident.

After doing that, she continued wandering until she stumbled into a town. She marveled at the various buildings, shops, and even fountains like a kid in the candy store. She was so used to being caged and waiting to be bought all the time, so this was such a pleasant experience for her. She continued exploring until she found the harbor and instantly went to check the schedule. The ship that would be the first to leave would be 3 days from now. It was supposed to be an aristocratic ball that only required you buy a ticket and dress in formal clothes. Pyrrha looked at her current attire and a sad expression crept onto her features.

'There's no way I'll be able to afford this, let alone a dress for me to wear.' She thought to herself as she let out a sigh. She had to get out of this area, and fast, as it probably wouldn't be long until anyone chasing her would catch up.

She had went back into town and went to a pastry shop. There were two men quietly arguing at a back table. There was a mysterious looking man dressed in white and red. To her horror, Mr. Radcliffe was the other person! She was panicking inside her mind as she ordered what she wanted, keeping her voice just low enough so Radcliffe wouldn't hear.

Ezio saw Pyrrha and shot a glance at her. His eyes were covered with his hood so Radcliffe didn't notice.

"Listen you," The older gentleman hissed, anger and fury clearly evident in his tone, "I told you to kill that wench! My son is now dead and my estate is ruined because of her!"

"I was watching her the whole time, she didn't kill Jurgis." Ezio replied, his eyes still fixed on Pyrrha.

"Like bloody hell she didn't!" Was all Radcliffe could really say.

At this time Pyrrha had received her food and quickly left the store, she was absolutely horrified that Radcliffe was already in town, knowing he was here to look for her.

"Look," Radcliffe started, rubbing his temples with his hands, but still maintaining that hateful tone "I want her dead, I don't care how you do it. I'll double your pay at this point, just please get rid of her."

"I don't think so. The girl is clearly not the serial killer people made her out to be." Ezio retorted, his voice now displaying irritation.

"Then how would YOU explain the little incident that transpired last night?" Radcliffe's face was reddened with anger.

Ezio had tried to explain to him about the mysterious girl he saw last night, but Radcliffe simply dismissed what he said, claiming that he was not going to believe his superstitious story of some mystical girl. Ezio became annoyed of the old bastard, leaving him to deal with his losses on his own. He left the shop with a look in his eyes that could kill all on its own. His mind suddenly began to drift.

Thinking back to last night, his expression saddened a little when he thought about how she seemed so happy to even find out she had a mom, even though her mom's murderer was right in front of her.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Pyrrha looking into a jewelry store eating her pastry. He instantly went around the nearest corner and started watching her. She only stayed there shortly before walking off with a sad sigh. She continued walking until she felt something rub against her thigh.

She jumped at first with a gasp, but turned down to see it was a small cat. The cat meowed innocently as Pyrrha acknowledged it.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she started as she crouched down to pet it, "you just startled me." She continued with a small chuckle. The cat meowed again. Pyrrha looked at it and noticed it was eyeballing her pastry.

"Are you hungry?" She asked it, tearing off a small piece and handing it the cat. She was quite shocked at how fast the cat gobbled it up.

Ezio was still watching the two with that sad expression he had earlier, thinking about how he could help the poor girl. He had unconsciously loaded his crossbow and aimed it right at Pyrrha, finger on the trigger ready to fire. He pulled it down when he noticed her walking away. 'Micio…' he thought to himself as he started following her again.

Pyrrha had went to a hotel and paid to stay there for three days. 'I have to find a way to get money…' she thought silently to herself as lay on the bed. Her expression seemed to change whenever she got an idea, eventually thinking herself into a slumber.

Ezio grew bored of watching her from the window. He started walking elsewhere, eventually finding his way to the harbor. He looked at the same schedule Pyrrha had seen earlier.

"Ahh, you're looking to attend the ball, too?" The old woman from behind the counter said, grabbing Ezio's attention.

"There was a young lady looking earlier, she seemed really saddened at the prices..." The woman continued, her voice dry.

"No, I was just looking." He replied, not even turning to her before taking off.

'So she wants to leave. Not that I blame her.' He thought to himself, as the old woman was obviously talking about Pyrrha. His inner-conflict arose again, this time about whether to help her escape or not. That's when a light bulb went off in his head and he devised a plan. A slight smile fell upon his lips as it did.

_March 23, 1605_

Pyrrha had taken a job helping out at the hotel yesterday, but it didn't provide anywhere near the amount of money she would need if she wanted to leave. She knew authorities or even worse, the ring blade girl, will find her eventually. So she was pretty much forced to take a second job…. prostitution.

She had just got finished servicing her 5th guy for the night, who gave her plenty of money. She felt so ashamed of what she had been doing, but knew she truly didn't have a choice in the matter. Pyrrha was tired and aching, so she went back to her hotel room for the night. She counted her money, only to start tearing up.

"No, it's still not enough." She said to herself. She buried her hands into her knees and starting sobbing. "I don't want to do those things ever again."

She felt filthy, even after she got out of the bath and counted her money again before putting it in a small bag and tying it up. She placed it under her pillow blew out her candle before falling asleep.

Moments after she shut her eyes, she heard someone enter through the window. Her eyes jolted open, but she remained quiet and still, hoping the intruder wasn't anyone who was after her. After a few seconds, the intruder left back out the window and disappeared into the night.

Pyrrha sighed in relief before closing her eyes again to fall asleep.

**I wonder who Pyrrha's mysterious visitor was. And what did they want?**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: The concept of 1600's fashion was completely ignored during the making of this chapter.**_

_March 24, 1605_

It was the day of the ball, or for Pyrrha, her chance to escape. She was lucky there weren't any wanted posters out for her arrest. Radcliffe never really had a thing for involving authorities in his affairs anyway.

She had awakened and instantly looked around to see if last night's visitor had taken anything from her. To her surprise, there was a bag of money on the cupboard next to her. There weren't any notes attached, just the money. Wide eyed, she opened the bag and counted, she now had plenty of money to go to the ball and escape now! She couldn't help but tear up out of joy, someone was actually helping her.

She quickly got dressed and went straight harbor and purchased a ticket. The old woman was quite humbled that Pyrrha was able to gather enough money to attend in such a short amount of time.

Pyrrha then went to the tailor to buy a dress. The young tailor was a bit skeptical of how someone like Pyrrha even got a ticket to the ball. She shot her dirty looks, but found her a nice dark satin red dress that had slits on both sides from the upper thighs down. The draped sleeves were long and left her shoulders and much to Pyrrha's embarrassment, her cleavage, exposed. The tailor gave Pyrrha a nice pair of white silk gloves and pearly white heels with red shoe roses to go with the dress. Pyrrha had thanked the tailor as she left to go to the jewelry store and the salon, paying her for the items that she would return to get when she got ready.

When she got to the salon, the middle aged woman looked and fiddled with Pyrrha's hair before getting an idea of what to do. First she washed it thoroughly with many scented shampoos and conditioners and brushed it out. She then curled Pyrrha's locks and let a curl hang from either side of either of her face. She asked Pyrrha for the color of the dress she was wearing to the ball. After Pyrrha had told her, the salon worker fiddled through a cabinet and took out some Maybelline medium red lipstick and applied it to Pyrrha. She also gave Pyrrha some light pink blush and black eye liner. She finished by attaching a red bow into Pyrrha's hair. Pyrrha thought she looked rather silly, but she kept her comments to herself as she thanked the salon worker and went back to the tailor.

The tailor had Pyrrha take off all of her clothes so she could shove her in a corset. It felt a little uncomfortable at first, but she got used to it rather quickly. Then the dress was put on, followed by the shoes. The tailor decided against the gloves at the last moment, but gave them to Pyrrha anyway incase she wanted to put them on later. After sliding on her shoes, the tailor gave Pyrrha a mirror so she could look at herself. The used to be maid had actually looked like someone respectable in society! She felt herself tear up again as she tightly embraced the tailor, thanking her immensely for her help. The tailor, who had a bit of animosity towards Pyrrha at first, had finally set that aside as she hugged the nearly crying girl back. She told Pyrrha to hurry and get some accessories from the jewelry shop to finish off her look. Pyrrha bid the girl a sincere farewell before departing.

Making her way to the jewelry store, Pyrrha almost fell over twice, as she still wasn't quite used to wearing hills yet. But she eventually made her way to the jewelers, where she was greeted by a humble old man. The moment he looked at her, he knew just what to get for her. He brought her some golden bracelets with small pearls in them, and a beautiful choker that had diamond shaped rubies embedded in silver. Pyrrha absolutely fell in love with it right away. She didn't even hesitate to buy it and put it on. She thanked the man as she made her way to the harbor to board the ship. But before she did, she made sure to thank the hotel receptionist for all their help.

When she arrived, she gave the guard her ticket and boarded the ship. She had completely forgotten about the events of last night as she sheepishly looked around at many of the decorations.

Ezio was already on board in his usual attire, for whatever reason he was let on the ship. He was sitting in one of the far back tables sipping wine, ignoring the stares and giggles of the women around him. He had looked up to see Pyrrha, he instantly thought the wine was getting to him as he rubbed his eyes and looked at her again. She had looked so different from the lowly, pitiful maid he'd seen a few days ago. She was happy, not dressed in rags, and looked quite respectable. The women around him noticed he was looking at Pyrrha and instantly turned to her, they immediately started insulting her and insisted Ezio pay them attention instead. He, of course, continued to ignore them as he watched Pyrrha.

Pyrrha had sat down at a table and a butler had brought her some wine, this seemed foreign to her as she was so accustomed to be the one giving drinks. She slowly accepted the glass with a soft thank you and the butler was on his way off. She brought the glass to her beautiful red lips and took a sip. She scrunched her face as the wine met her taste buds.

'This is so gross…..' She thought to herself as she drunk it down, not wanting to waste it. Right when she finished, the sound of glass being tapped filled the room, followed by a young man's voice.

"Good evening, fellow guests. I hope you all enjoy this ball I put together as we cruise through the fine canals that our forefathers had made for us. Let us toast," he temporarily stopped as his eyes wandered elsewhere, "as we set off tonight's festivities!" Everyone lifted their glasses and cheered. Pyrrha looked around for a few seconds before she caught on and followed suit.

And with that, the ship had started moving and slow music had begun playing. People had got up and started dancing in pairs. Pyrrha was still sitting at the table alone, staring at them until a hand appeared in front her, knocking her out of her daydream. She looked up and saw it was the young man who was talking a few minutes ago.

"Would you care to join in a dance, milady?" As he said this, the sound of groans and scoffs from other women were obviously looking to dance with him filled the room. With good reason too, he was quite handsome with young boyish features and well done hair.

Pyrrha blushed a little and nodded, placing her hand in his. He placed a gentle kiss her hand and assisted her out the chair. It wasn't soon until they arrived to the dance floor. Ezio saw this and scowled slightly at the pair before receiving another glass of wine from a maid.

He began to chug his wine, as he did, he felt his whole body go stiff. He passed out shortly afterwards, the women by him screamed in horror as he plummeted to the floor.

Everyone turned to the sounds of the horrified screams. When they did, they suddenly were stunned as they saw the maid who just gave Ezio his wine slash a woman with a giant ring-like weapon, killing her instantly. Panic ensued as she began killing more people.

Pyrrha knew who it was immediately, but she forgot her sword and shield back in the town so she couldn't defend herself. The young host, still holding her hand, led her out of the main ballroom into the cabin-section of the ship and took refuge in his room.

"Are you okay?" He asked her as he gently stroked her hair. Her face flushed slightly nodded her head in response. The screams of the panicked crowd were suddenly fell silent. The sounds of footsteps however, were getting closer.

By this time, Ezio had awoken from his poison-induced sleep. He shot up and looked at all the carnage caused by the assailant. "Requiescat in pace…" he said silently as he headed off to look for Pyrrha.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as the footsteps stopped at the door. She covered her mouth with her hand to suppress a gasp from escaping it. She knew that it was the girl who she had met at the mansion, now here to finish whatever business she had with her. Her horror-filled expression only worsened when the sound of the door slowly screeching open rang in her ear. She was in the closet with the young host; he was holding her tightly as the girl disguised as a maid entered the room.

"Sire, are you here? I brought some wine." She called out, her voice highly sarcastic and malicious. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna bite…"

Pyrrha and the man held their breath as the girl's violet eyes met the closet door. She started walking towards it slowly. 'Oh god, please no…' Pyrrha thought to herself as the girl reached out to open the door. Just before she did, the young man had sprung forward and tackled the door head-on, knocking it and the girl to the floor with a crashing thud.

"Pyrrha run!" He shouted, but Pyrrha just sat there motionless as the girl began angrily shouting curses and insults.

"B- but," she started, tearing up a little.

"Just go! I'll be fine, you just need to get away." The man turned to her and flashed a smile as he struggled to keep their attacker pinned underneath the door.

Pyrrha eventually nodded and reluctantly left the room and sprinted down the corridor. Before she turned the corner, a shrill scream along with the sound of tearing flesh were heard, followed by a splatter of blood the fell into the hallway. Tears started running down her face as she kept running, knowing what just happened.

"Why me…" she said herself softly as she approached the poop deck of the ship, thinking about how she was probably going to be framed for this incident, too.

"Well, well, well, nowhere to run now, huh princess?" A voice called out. Pyrrha turned and saw the girl twirling her blade above her head around her wrist, ready to attack. The blonde looked around frantically in all directions, looking for a place to run, only to find the girl was right, there was nowhere to go.

"S- stay away from me!" Pyrrha shouted, losing her balance and slipping onto her rear while trying to back away.

"How dare you! That's no way to treat your friend now is it?" The girl continued, a terrifying smirk on her face as she continued to approach Pyrrha.

"I'd never be friends with a crazed murderer like you." Pyrrha retorted, her voice getting more and more weaker as the girl got closer.

"I guess you just don't remember, you were only 3 years-old when we first met after all." The girl said, grinning with glee. She had finally reached Pyrrha and cupped her chin with her cold, sticky, bloody hands, forcing her to meet her gaze. After looking into the girl's eyes for a bit, Pyrrha began to get hit with a stream of memories. Like being abducted by this girl and actually being friends with her for a short while.

"S- stop!" Pyrrha eventually shouted, slapping the girl, whose name is Tira according to the memories. Tira simply fell back, rubbing her now swollen cheek.

Ezio had finally managed to make it to the hallway leading to the poop deck. He was still slightly delirious from the poison, so he couldn't get around as swiftly as he wanted. He cursed himself for being naïve and letting his guard down as he continued towards the sound of commotion.

"You…. you…. bitch!" Tira shouted angrily as she swung her massive ring blade in an overhead strike at Pyrrha, who rolled to her right to dodge the attack. The blade struck the ground with tremendous force, leaving a tiny crater where it hit. Pyrrha quickly sprung to her feet as Tira leaped high into the air, twirling acrobatically before crashing back down to the earth with another overhead strike. Pyrrha had dodged again, only to see Tira quickly follow up with a horizontal slash that would've taken Pyrrha's head clean off if she didn't duck.

The swiping and dodging continued until Ezio had arrived and shot a bolt from his crossbow. It had nearly missed Tira's face due to his ailment from her poison. Tira had frozen in her tracks, turning her blood-thirsty glare to him. Pyrrha took the opportunity to run to the opposite end of the poop deck.

"You," Tira scowled, gaze still fixed on Ezio, "what do you think you're doing!? How are you still alive?"

Ezio didn't answer the angry girl's question. He simply turned to Pyrrha, glad to see she was okay.

"Bastard!" Tira growled as she started dashing at Ezio. His poisoned condition was starting to get the better of him as he barely managed to block her attack with the hidden blades on his arms. Tira scoffed as she continued her assault by spinning the blade rapidly on her hands. The continuous blows made Ezio fly to the ground eventually. At this point, the poison had completely numbed his body again. He groaned as he laid there helpless. Tira approached him, blade above her head ready to strike.

"Yes, this is much better, seeing you helpless like that!" She said, her voice now happy again.

Pyrrha saw this and panicked. "No!" she said softly as she picked up a chair that was near her and started dashing towards Tira, who was just about to bring her weapon down to finish the assassin.

Pyrrha yelled loudly as had swung the chair horizontally with as much force as she could muster, striking Tira in the head and sending her flying with a shriek. She landed to the ground, barely moving. A smirk had fallen upon her face as she slowly began to stand up, beginning to laugh maniacally. Blood running down her face as she kept laughing.

"W- What's so funny!?" Pyrrha shouted at the bleeding hysterical girl. She was ignored as laughter continued to fill the air.

Tira had stopped laughing when an explosion caused the two girls to fall to the floor. Tira slowly got up and laughed again saying, "Aww…. Playtime's over already! But don't worry, we'll meet again!" She then jumped off the ship; there wasn't a sound of her falling into the water, though.

"Bastard…" Ezio growled as he slowly sat up. He was sweating and panting like crazy, more than likely another side effect of the poison. Pyrrha immediately noticed and ran to him.

"Are you okay?" She asked frantically, trying to hold the man upright.

A rumbling sensation caused Ezio's adrenaline to kick in as in one swift motion; he quickly scooped up Pyrrha bridal style. She was confused by his actions as he started running to the edge of the ship.

"What are you do-" She was cut off by her own screaming as Ezio jumped off the boat to avoid an explosion that had sent a huge ball of orange flames right where they were just standing.

**Finally got this chapter completed! It took me a while as I tried writing this while staying true to the 1600's fashion, but it didn't turn out so well lol.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **_**I'm sorry I took so long guys! I'll try to update faster from now on. That aside, please enjoy!**

_March 24, 1605 (Evening)_

Ezio and Pyrrha landed into the canal with a loud splash. They emerged from the water out of breath and coughing. Pyrrha looked up at Ezio, whose eyes were shadowed by his hood. Her makeup was running down her face, causing her to look like some character out of a bad horror movie.

"Are you alright?" Ezio asked, voice straining from the poison. Pyrrha gave a sheepish nod in reply. He struggled to carry Pyrrha out of the water. They later reached a dock of another town and were greeted by a frantic group of people, who helped them out of the water. A woman gave Pyrrha a rag to wipe her face. They were also hit with a wave of panicked questions,

"Are you guys alright? What happened? Where are the others?" However, the questions ceased when Ezio fell to the ground.

"He's been poisoned on the ship! Someone please get him to a doctor!" Pyrrha cried, turning to Ezio as his heavy breathing and sweating resumed. Two men picked Ezio up off the ground and proceeded to carry him to the nearest doctor. Pyrrha followed them as everyone else stayed behind to try to help any other survivors.

When they arrived to the doctor's house, Pyrrha knocked and called out frantically. She almost gave up hope until an elderly man opened the door from the other side. He was shocked to see the sick looking Ezio. His condition was worsening by the second and he would surely die if he didn't get help right now. The doctor led the men carrying Ezio into his house and had them place the poisoned man in a couch.

The elderly doctor told Pyrrha to go in the back and get out of her wet clothes, stating that his deceased wife had some clothes that would fit her before turning to help Ezio. She went into the room and curiously looked around at her surroundings. It was a rather quaint bedroom that was decorated with many small plants and flowers. A calming flowery scent filled the air and Pyrrha took a large whiff of it before she slowly started to open the closet. She felt a little embarrassed that she was going to undress in a house full of men, but tried to push the thought out of her mind as she looked for things to put on.

She quickly took off her soaking dress and corset and slipped into a simple white dress with long sleeves and stopped at her upper thighs. Her face flushed when one of the men came in the room since she had no underwear on.

"Are you alright miss?" He asked, his eyes conveying concern and sincerity for Pyrrha. She nodded in response and he excused himself from the room. Pyrrha quickly took the opportunity to find some underwear. After that, she walked back out to the main room to help with Ezio. He lay shirtless on the couch, his breathing was normal again, but a huge rash was starting to form on his torso.

"What are we supposed to do, doc?" One of the men called out.

"I never seen anything like this," the elderly man started, his voice was dry and scratchy "whoever did this to him must really have extensive knowledge." He went to a nearby bookcase and pulled out a book on poisons.

Pyrrha instantly thought back to Tira's comment on the ship when she saw Ezio: "You, what the hell do you think you're doing!? How are you still alive?" Pyrrha bit down on her lip hard as she came to the conclusion that Tira had poisoned the man who saved her. Someone who was finally being nice to her was again going to die and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Do you know anything about what happened to this man, dear?" The old man's question knocked Pyrrha out of her thoughts.

"N- no…. I'm sorry." She solemnly replied, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Sp- spiked wine…" A low voice called out, everyone turned to see that it was Ezio. Pyrrha was relieved to see that her savior was still alive.

"Hm, I see." The doctor said, flipping the pages in the book rapidly. He stopped at a page and lifted his head up slowly.

"I think I have what it takes to make an antidote in the back…" he said as he got up and left the room. Pyrrha and the two men waited desperately for his return. Pyrrha's face lit up when the doctor came back with a cup in his hand.

"Can someone hold his head up?" He asked tilting his head to Ezio. Pyrrha quickly went to the ailing man on the couch and slowly lifted his head and the doctor slowly pressed the cup against his lips, tilting it so he could ingest it. Ezio sat up coughing and hacking, but quickly fell back down onto the couch.

"He should be fine with some rest." The doctor said as he turned to head to the back room.

"W- wait," Pyrrha called to him, "I lost my money on the ship, can I stay here for the night?"

The old man stared questionably at her for a while and grumbled to himself before agreeing. He told her that she could sleep in a chair in the same room as Ezio. The two men felt that they were no longer needed and said goodbye to Pyrrha before leaving the house.

Pyrrha was happy, not because she got a free place to sleep for the night, but because she could keep an eye on the mysterious man who has been saving her from Tira's clutches. She completely forgot about seeing him with Radcliffe at the pastry shop a few days ago.

She sat up all night, not wanting to fall asleep. She wanted to talk to him and know why he went out of his way to save a pitiful soul like her, why he wouldn't just let Tira do what she wanted to her, why he cared…

She kept thinking until she accidentally thought herself to sleep, falling off the chair with thud. Ezio heard her and instantly shot up from his sleep. He was still in slight pain from Tira's poison, but he was able to function properly now. He went to the sleeping girl and lifted her off of the floor, placing her onto the couch he was on. He wandered around the darkened home to look for his robes, but stopped dead in his tracks to the sound of footsteps.

"Looking for these, lad?" A voice called out, Ezio turned and saw a short elderly man holding his robes. Ezio quickly took them from the man and put them on.

"And these," the old man said, holding up Pyrrha's sword and shield. Ezio's mind flashed back to when he took it from Pyrrha's old hotel room after she left it behind to go to the ball. He wanted to give it back to her while on the ship before Tira arrived.

"These are not mine," Ezio stated flatly as he took them from the man and placed them on the chair Pyrrha was on before she, literally, fell asleep.

"I'll be going now." Ezio said, taking off into the night before the old man could retort.

He made his way through the empty streets without a destination. His aimless wandering continued until a shadow caught the corner of his eye. He slowly walked towards it, but it took off as he got closer. He scoffed silently to himself as he picked up the pace to pursue it.

When he reached the corner he saw the shadow, he saw a small hooded figure that was seated on what looked like air. Ezio eyed the figure, studying it to make sure it's not something that would attack him like the girl that has been following and tormenting Pyrrha. It quickly disappeared again and Ezio began to think nothing of it, continuing to wander again throughout the town.

_March 25, 1605_

Pyrrha felt the sunlight beaming on her and slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She was immediately alarmed by the fact that she was on the couch Ezio was lying on last night.

"No, he left again." Pyrrha said sadly out loud, she was upset that she didn't even get to thank him, let alone get his name. She shot up for the couch and frantically looked around to see if he hadn't left and her initial thoughts were wrong. Unfortunately for her, she was right.

She sighed sadly before realizing her sword and shield on the chair that Ezio had placed there last night.

"Why are these…" she started, but stopped when the old man entered from the previous room.

"I'm glad to see you're up." He said, his voice calm and endearing.

"Yes, thank you." Pyrrha smiled for a brief period, but turned to the weapons resting on the chair and frowned again.

"If you're worried about the lad, he left last night without a word. However, he left those weapons for you saying they were yours." He said to the young, concerned girl.

"Well, they're mine, but," Pyrrha started, but stops when the old man offers her a cup of tea. Her eyes widened at the sight of someone being nice to her and she carefully took the cup and sipped it.

"So where do you live young lady?" The man asked as he took a seat next to her. Pyrrha had no idea what to say, seeing as she was just a slave who had ran away from her masters after killing all the guards.

"W- well," she started, shaking somewhat uncontrollably as she stared into her reflection in her cup of tea, "I… don't know."

"Don't know? Whatever could you mean, miss? You're from an aristocratic family, right?" The man persisted, his voice becoming more strained. Pyrrha bit her lip and her shaking intensified, she felt her eyes slowly filling with tears as she thought about what would happen if he found out the truth.

"N- no," Pyrrha replied weakly, she wanted to leave so badly and go far away. She saw her reflection in the cup become distorted from the rippling of the tea due to her out of control shaking.

"I'm sorry, I won't ask anymore about it." The man said reassuringly, seeing that the subject was clearly bothering Pyrrha. Pyrrha blinked and nodded, feeling like she avoided death itself. She quickly finished the cup of tea and set it down on the end table beside the couch.

"Thank you for everything mister, but I have to be going." Pyrrha said as she got up and grabbed her weapons to leave, but before she did, the old doctor stopped her,

"Wait, don't you want your dress from the ball?" He called out. Pyrrha turned on her heels to see the old man going into the back room. He came back out with her dress, perfectly dried. Pyrrha blinked and looked in awe as he walked to her and handed it to her.

"Thank you so much!" She shouted happily, tears of joy almost escaping her eyes.

"Oh, and take this." The man said, handing her some money for a hotel room as well as a brown leather vest and some white boots with matching brown leather upper thigh high brown stockings with fold over cuffs decorated with white frilly lace.

Pyrrha put on the clothes she had received and headed out with one last goodbye to the elderly doctor. She made her way through the new, unfamiliar town, marveling at all of its sights much like she did at the other town. She eventually stopped to ask for directions to the hotel. She entered the closest building, it was creepily decorated with a lot of purple and barely any sunlight shined inside. The scent of roses tinged the air.

"Um, excuse me. Is anyone here?" Pyrrha called out. After a while with no response, she turned to leave, but was stopped by a beaming light. She turned to see a small girl with white curly hair and blood red eyes holding a glowing ball.

"Yes, you're looking for something right?" She asked Pyrrha, her tone completely flat.

"I'm looking for the hotel; do you know how I can get there?" Pyrrha replied.

"You," the girl started, her eyes widening slightly and her tone changing slightly, "are you Pyrrha Alexandra?"

Pyrrha was completely shocked by what this girl was saying; her face changed displayed an expression of absolute shock.

"H- how do you know who I am!?" Pyrrha said, she was somewhat frightened by the mysterious girl.

"That's not important, but you should know what you're looking for isn't here." The girl said.

"What?" Pyrrha's confusion was only deepened. Who is she? How does she know these things? Pyrrha wanted to ask those questions, but they were stuck in her throat. She was afraid, but didn't know why.

"You're dangerous…" The girl stated flatly as her stare intensified. Pyrrha felt as if her very being was being stared into, she felt naked despite being fully clothed. She was on the verge of screaming as the girl slowly made her way to her. She wanted to run, but was paralyzed with fear by the girl's stare.

"Let me see your shield." The girl commanded, holding out her hand that was covered with sharp claws. Pyrrha didn't want to listen, but complied out of fear and handed her shield to the girl.

The girl examined it thoroughly before turning to Pyrrha, "This is your only clue to finding what you want…" She said.

"Only when the wine turns red will you find what you desire so." She said, handing Pyrrha back her shield. She stared into Pyrrha's eyes again, only to turn away with a sound of frustration escaping her red lips. She told Pyrrha the directions to the nearest hotel and excused her from the building.

Pyrrha wanted to ask her more questions, but didn't want to disobey her and nearly ran out of the building, quickly ran to the hotel and purchased a room. She ran in there and shut the door tight, going to the bed and sitting on it nearly out of breath. She was still horrified by that girl.

"How does she know so much?" Pyrrha said to herself as she looked at her shield, remembering back to the girl's comment on it. She clenched it and her sword tightly as she headed out of the hotel room, leaving her ball gown there. She made her way back to the presumably future-seeing girl's building.

"Why are you here again?" A calm voice called out. The girl came out and eyed Pyrrha. "I already told you what you wanted."

"I want to know what this shield has to do with my family." Pyrrha stated confidently, eyeing the girl right back. The staring contest seemed to continue forever until the girl spoke,

"No," she said flatly.

"Why?" Pyrrha whined, clenching her sword tighter. She stepped forward, but stopped when the girl's glowing orb came flying at her. She threw up her shield to block the projectile and a large clanking sound filled the room. Pyrrha lowered her shield and saw the girl was in a defensive stance, her orb levitating in front of her.

"Wait I'm not here to fight you!" Pyrrha shouted, hoping to deter the girl from conflict. The girl simply stood there before she began to speak,

"I can't tell you the things you want to know."

"Then how do you know it's a clue to finding them? Um…." Pyrrha asked, holding her shield to her chest.

"It's Viola." The girl said, her expression still blank.

"How did you know I was going to ask that?" Pyrrha said, "Can you see into the future?"

"Sort of…" Viola replied, she was getting annoyed by Pyrrha's questions and just wanted to be alone.

"Then tell me where to find my family, please!" Pyrrha pleaded, Viola could feel her blood pressure rising from Pyrrha's voice.

"That I cannot do, for spoiled wine tastes bad." Viola said flatly.

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked again.

"Just find a way to get out of town, someone dangerous is hunting for you." Viola said, hoping that she would get Pyrrha to leave.

"Okay…" Pyrrha solemnly stated before turning to leave, keeping Viola's last words in mind. As she left, Viola closed her eyes slowly.

"It's very rude to point those things at people, you know?" She said; her words directed to Ezio, who was pointing his crossbow at her from outside of her window. He grumbled as he wondered how she'd noticed him, standing up to reveal himself to her.

"Why are you protecting her?" Viola asked, eyes now open and gazing upon the man. "I'm sure you heard me say she's dangerous."

"What do you mean she's dangerous? I've been following her for a while now and all I see is a meek and lost girl." Ezio retorted, his voice still calm.

"Well, if you're so willing to destroy yourself, then go after her. She's looking for you too, after all." Viola said, her tone still ever so calm yet whimsical.

"Me?" Ezio said, "What would she want with me?"

"That is for you to find out." Viola replied; a small smile on her face as she leaned on her floating orb with one arm as if it were a counter top. Ezio was somewhat annoyed by Viola's way of putting things and quickly left to find Pyrrha. He still didn't know what she could possibly want him for.

"Maybe the unknown variable can change the course dramatically…" Viola said to herself as Ezio left the building, that small smile still etched upon her lips.

**Yay I finally finished!Again I'm so sorry I took so long to update this for those who were waiting so patiently. School's been taking so much of my time it seems as well as other ideas for other stories. I'll try to update faster from now on.**


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